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Every major technological revolution brings unpredictable consequences that are hard to come to terms with. In the case of artificial intelligence, the debate among artists no longer revolves around whether it should exist but how it should be used.
Javier Bardem has repeatedly made clear his criticism of this technology because, in his view, it has an enormous capacity to manipulate reality. Now he’s joined fellow actor Cate Blanchett, a driving force behind a project called rslmedia.org and its new free online platform which acts as a human consent identifier.
This week, RSL Media, co-founded by Blanchett with Nikki Hexum, Doug Leeds and Eckart Walther, launched a new tool allowing any artist to record to what extent their face, voice, movements or even ideas are being transformed by AI.
Artists or content creators simply have to register to verify their identity and state their level of consent, set out in three colour-coded tiers: green, permitted; yellow, use under certain conditions, such as payment; and red, forbidden. This creates a database of practical information that can be used by machines on a large scale.
Identity as intellectual property
Ultimately, this non-profit website is based on the principle that human identity is also a form of intellectual property and that there therefore needs to be an infrastructure where it can be recorded in a tangible and transparent way. This gives AI companies access to a tool that complements emerging regulatory frameworks.
This is how Australian actor Cate Blanchett presented the initiative on Tuesday at the European Parliament, where in 2024 the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act was adopted as the world’s first comprehensive regulatory framework for AI.
“To find a path between unbridled enthusiasm and the dangers of AI, we need safeguards based on consent. Not to prevent technological progress, heaven forbid, but safeguards that can evolve at scale and at the same pace as the technology itself. Safeguards that protect our human rights,” Blanchett said. She attended the event alongside Steven Soderbergh, director of films such as the ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ saga (2001), ‘Erin Brockovich’ (2000) and ‘Presence’ (2004).
A persuasive mechanism
Both the actor and the film-maker joined MEP Eva Maydell for a discussion with legal advisers, film-makers, musicians, lawmakers and leaders from the business sector, where some representatives of the tech industry voiced reservations that such projects might undermine Europe’s technology sector compared with industries in rival countries.
Soderbergh was clear on this point. “This is not a law, it is not a restriction; it is a persuasive mechanism to do the right thing in a simple and elegant way,” he said.
On the dangers of AI, Soderbergh added: “There are a lot of things that AI cannot do and never will, and that is why I am not afraid, but people need some kind of direction.”
A path opened up by these major stars that now looks clearer for millions of creators.